We have two weeks more until we have fifty two days off. The kids in our neighborhood already are on summer vacation. In February, when they go back to school the Chileans will move into the next grade. Because our students at Nido are going to colleges outside of Chile, and we are in the International Baccalaureate program, we follow a North American calendar. When we get back from break, we will still have half of the year to finish.
It is December and eighty degrees and sunny (every single day), which hardly resembles the holiday season in Ipswich. There are no Christmas lights twinkling in the dark. It actually is not really dark until after 9:30 pm. The vernal equinox is not until mid-December, so our days are still getting longer. And outdoor holiday decorations are not really a thing. Christmas music is not playing on the radio or in department stores. I have not seen a mall Santa Claus. Of course, there are no real Christmas trees. There is no snow, real or otherwise. I see plenty of artificial trees for sale on the Discover Chile: English Speaking Moms Facebook page, and I am sure that most expat families probably have one, but I feel no pressure to buy one and all new decorations. I have done no holiday shopping and will not be sending any holiday cards. I feel zero pressure to do elf on the shelf this year. I cannot find our Menorah, which means it is probably in storage. So, I do not need to buy 16 little presents and chase down Chanukah candles and dreidels, though I will miss lighting the candles, our annual Chanukah party with the Lencis, and my mom’s potato latkes.
We are planning on going to the beach for Christmas this year with friends. We will buy the kids some presents, mostly experiences. Max also wants a Fitbit, and I know that Mia would love a sewing machine, but the celebration will be modest. Though holiday traditions and celebrations are incredibly magical, I feel nothing but relief that I do not have to engage in the madness (just) this year. I am sure when the kids are older that they will not remember the year that we did not celebrate the holiday in a traditional way.
I also had a colonoscopy the day before Thanksgiving this year, so we did not celebrate the holidays at all. If I cannot see my parents, brother, and his family for Thanksgiving, then this year I would just assume not celebrate the holiday. My mom makes the most incredible Thanksgiving dinner spread, and there is no way that I felt like trying to make an inferior version of it. Instead, we enjoyed bbq’ing hamburgers and chicken Friday night on our patio, complete with pisco sours and ice cream. And I also have a clean bill of health.
What are we planning for the vacation? We are looking forward to hosting my parents, and then Uncle Jimmie and Tamara. We will take them to our favorite spots in Lo Barnechea: horseback riding, hiking, and sight-seeing. We have lots of sights in the city to share such as Barrio Italia, one of Paulo Neruda’s house, Los Dominicos, and Cerro San Cristobal. We will take them to half day trips to a winery and artisan towns like Pomaire. We are planning short overnight excursions to Santa Cruz, Pichelemu, and Cascada de Las Animas. We cannot wait to share our new city with our family; it will feel like the holiday when they are here.
This is the first Christmas that we will not be in either Toronto or Calgary since Rich and I have been together. Though driving to Toronto for the holidays was never easy (especially with little ones), I will miss Doug’s delicious turkey Christmas dinner, Danish Aquavit, and Christmas karaoke. This year, I will especially miss Don and Joyce Lehrer, my mother-and father-in-law, who brought all of the family together every year. It is because of them that I have a relationship with all of Rich’s extended family, that the kids love their first cousins, and that I feel a deep bond with Rich’s brothers and their partners, Tamara and Rob. It feels hard to try to recreate Christmas this year, so I am glad that it will just be a different experience, far from the commercial hoopla and also the intimate moments amid a room full of family. And who knows? Perhaps, we will establish some new holiday traditions this year, not the colonoscopy of course.
Living in Chile 